I’m making a few Sapo (sp) tables. It’s a south american game where you throw brass pieces onto this game board. The board looks very similar to a bed side or end table. There are divisions inside the drawer in the front that divide where your pieces land when they fall in the holes. Each hole is worth a different amount. In the center, you put a brass frog (the sapo) over the center hole.

Ok, that was a long explanation, but my questions come with the design of the pieces. I wanted to get a little feedback on the design. It’ll be made with tenons and biscuits where appropriate. I’ll be using red oak because it’s only $1 BF from my local mill. You’ll notice I’ve got a square brass rod across the front that’s removable to keep the edge from exploding when the brass pieces are thrown at it.

There is no standard for the game board measurements, but I’ve made it as close to the “norm” as I could. Any thoughts on the design that might help me improve it a little? The one I will be making is to put a better handle on it, not a hole through the drawer face as you see here.

Don’t know why, but I’m a little hesitant to get started yet. It doesn’t feel “right” for some reason.

4 replies so far

How about lining the inside of the table with pieces of brass from a door kick plate, and you could bend a piece into an L-shape to cover the front corner. If the pieces are very heavy you might want to cover the part with the holes in it.